After the recent defeat to Olympiacos in the Champions League, many fans are getting a little bewildered by Arsenal’s rather underwhelming start to the campaign. Although, in fairness, Arsenal sit in fourth place in the PL – only 3-points behind leaders Manchester United.
Maybe withholding a view on the start of the campaign would be the sensible option until after the imminent home tie against Manchester United. Victory over United would potentially take the Gunners to the top of the table if Manchester City fail to beat Newcastle at home.
But how are our players stacking up against the rest of the league when it comes to assists, fantasy league points, goals, clean sheets and MOM awards? We thought we’d use the invaluable Fantasy Premier League website to show you how well our current squad is doing according to their Fantasy Football analysts.
Top 5 Goalkeepers:
1. Myhill (West Brom) – 38
2. Gomes (Watford) – 34
3. Howard (Everton) – 34
4. Hart (Man City) – 32
5. CECH (ARSENAL) – 32
As expected Petr Cech is already showing his worth regardless of a shaky start in the opening games against West Ham where the Gunners were beaten by Slaven Bilic’s men 2-0.
Top 5 Defenders:
1. Kolarov (Man City) – 46
2. Sagna (Man City) – 43
3. Kompany (Man City) – 42
4. Dier (Spurs) -36
5. Smalling (Man Utd) – 33
7. MONREAL (ARSENAL) – 32
After conceding a lot of goals already this season, it’s not surprising that the Top 5 defenders don’t feature any of Arsenal’s rearguard. Spanish full back Nacho Monreal has netted this season, which is partly the reason he finds himself high up in the list. And in the long-term, we probably shouldn’t expect any other Arsenal defender to feature near the top either.
Top 5 Midfielders:
1. Mahrez (Leicester City) – 60
2. Payet (West Ham) – 49
3. Mata (Man Utd) – 48
4. Toure (Man City) – 39
5. Barkley (Everton) – 39
7. SANCHEZ (ARSENAL) – 37
Alexis Sanchez’s recent hat trick against previously unbeaten Leicester City has propelled the Chilean up the rankings. After last year’s goal tally, you’d expect the pacey winger to be at the top of the midfield rankings again this campaign. And with recent form, it’s highly likely that the Gunners will be relying on Sanchez to get them out of trouble on numerous occasions this season.
Top 5 Attackers:
1. Vardy (Leicester City)
2. Lukaku (Everton)
3. Pelle (Southampton)
4. Wilson (Bournemout)
5. Ighalo (Watford)
12. GIROUD (ARSENAL) – 23
It’s highly unlikely anyone would’ve predicted that the above 5 strikers would be leading the way in the Fantasy rankings after 7-games. With Olivier Giroud back in 12th place, he’ll be looking to regain his first team place for the home tie against Manchester United this weekend, and put the nightmare sending off against Dinamo Zagreb and his lackluster start to the campaign behind him, according to Talk Sport.
The Premier League’s Fantasy Football League has become the most popular in the UK for wannabe football managers. However, its reach doesn’t stop with fans from our home country. The Fantasy league is played across the world with 3.5 million registered to play this season (2015/16) as reported by the Premier League. This is partly down to the increase in mobile Internet penetration throughout the world. More people than ever are now able to access useful apps like the Fantasy Premier League app straight from their smartphones and play while on the go.
The developers who launched online portal Pocket Fruity reported that just under 20% of the world’s population is able to access the Internet via mobile. With the Fantasy Premier League app improving year-on-year, the game continues to extend its reach globally as the most loved Fantasy game on the planet.
After looking at the list of Arsenal players featuring in the upper echelons of the Fantasy ladder, whom do you, think will improve upon their rankings come the end of the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
